Finally got the replacement demo unit of the HP Mini 2140. And for the last several days that I’ve been using it, I’ve changed some of the initial impressions I had with it. If only it addressed the small shortcomings I previously identified on the HP Mini 1100.
It seems HP is always a step behind the current trends in the market. At least, the HP Mini line now been re-priced competitively.
I already wrote a review of this unit for a magazine I’m contributing for (still to be launched in July), along with 3 other gadget reviews (this is what is taking some time off my blogging). I will do a separate review for this blog by middle of the week. If you’re itching for it, do read my earlier HP Mini Note 1109TU review first.
selling one HP mini na napulot ko. :)
10k.
@rogerd: I don’t know any place locally where you can buy the cable. I did look around. Luckily, my friend is coming home from the US, so I asked her to buy me one online. Don’t bother calling HP customer support to ask them. They’ll just pass you on from hotline to hotline then to their authorized distributors which have no clue when it will be out here. HP sucks at customer support in the Philippines. Too bad.
hope yuga can do a detailed review soon. but thanks, guys, for the helpful mini reviews. :-) btw, does the 2140 run on a 6-cell battery?
I forgot to mention that using a 6-cell battery (which raises the bottom of the netbook off a flat surface) keeps the unit running cooler than when I use the 3-cell battery.
Same here, given a flat surface (doesn’t even need a cooling pad) the unit feels comfortably warm to the touch. but with the help of a cooling pad, it greatly improves ventilation and temperature that it doesn’t require the user to check whether it is overheating or not. Again, when using a net-book, we should consider how we use it and where we use it, when all ventilation openings is prevented from exhausting, then it will definitely be hotter than the expected usage. this is usually felt when the user puts the netbook on a pillow, a mattress without a cooling pad or a flat sturdy surface, and even on your lap which i wouldn’t recommend since the size of the netbook strains your neck and etc. so there, i think your friend should reconsider getting a cooling pad and changing some laptop (they’re called netbooks not) habits.
On the contrary, I never found the 2140 to be unusually hot. I find that it runs even cooler than my white Macbook. It never gets hot enough to be uncomfortable when placed on one’s lap.
i have a friend who just bought the HP Mini 2140 and she is disturbed by the heat coming out of the netbook. have you guys experienced the same? is it normal? on my research, its predecessor has a remperature that can go as high as 90degrees fahrenheit.
hi yuga, i’m using the 1000 series and happy in it’s performance so far. i’m a power user and run applications (VA,Pen Test). Btw, do you know where can i buy the HP Mini VGA cable?
@Bon Layug
I’ve also considered the vertical ribbon, but as we all know, the new office 2007 is designed for Large Widescreens and sadly vertical ribbons is still undiscovered to this day on my day-to-day office relationship. I think, the best way is to get used to the hidden horizontal ribbons, much better view that way i guess.
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napanood kita sa Pinaka! last Sunday sir abe.=)
Wow! I want this I want this! Pero sabi ng iba, mas lower daw ang resolution neto compared to 1109TU?
@alvin, I did try the autohide route, but found it a bit tedious. Can the ribbon be placed vertically (which is what I did with some of the toolbars in Office 2003)?
After using Office 97, 2000 and 2003 for a decade, I’ve gotten so used to the interface that I rarely use the mouse – keyboard shortcuts FTW! I guess it’s a matter of what one is used to – I can see how the ribbon will help newbies find the advanced features that are otherwise rarely seen from the standard menus in the older versions.
@Bon Layug
RE: Office 2007
You can customize the Ribbon on screen by Right-Clicking at the blank space on the taskbar then minimize them. I think this option will give you enough vertical room. You could also switch to full screen and just use switch tabs for the different programs you are using.
Oh yes, that’s the one other thing that differentiates the Mini 2140 from the 1000 series: HP DriveGuard protection (basically an accelerometer that senses physical jolts to the netbook and parks the hard drive heads at the appropriate times to prevent damage).
@alvin, was on Office 2007 as well, but switched back to Office 2003 because I felt that the ribbon consumed too much screen real estate.
I can’t wait for the formal HP Mini 2140 review from Yuga. Personally I owned an HP Mini 2140 for a month now and I’m happy with the performance of the unit. To be fair with other Brands with much better specs (e.g. 1.3mp cam, 1.66ghz atom, 6-cell battery so on), I believe HP mini 2140 is on the middle in terms of mobility, performance, ergonomics and value.
The price range is just right for it is classified as a Business netbook which proves to be one of the best looking netbooks around with its aluminum body and hi-end finish. Performance fortunately is good enough to run multiple programs like MS OFFICE 2007, Media Player and Web Surfing with streaming video downloading at the back, although one should be sensitive enough that this doesn’t mean you would be doing this 24/7, the 2140 heats up quite a bit especially when AC is plugged but tolerable (laptop cooling pads is must)to the touch. Ergonomics is really in there, I’m very comfortable with sense typing and I should say the keyboard is well worth it compared to tiny cramped buttons in other netbooks. Lastly, Mobility is definity good, it required minimal handling, the aluminum body is sturdy enough to sustain heavy commutes. I’m not really sure with the HP 3D Hard Drive protectio, I hope YUGA will test its reliability and other featured ports. This is a great BUY people.
Nice 2140 Shots by the way.
@Snow
I think buying an MSI Wind or an Asus EEE would be a better investment of your money. But that’s just me
Php23,990.
I have always wanted to buy a smaller laptop. Is HP mini 2140 affordable? How much does it cost?
I’ve had a Mini 2140 for over a month now. Its main advantages are:
1) Expresscard 54 slot (which allows me to add a Firewire port to the machine for my video camera or use a Mogo X54 Expresscard mouse)
2) Better build quality due to the aluminum finish
3) Built-in VGA port (which is an expensive add-on in the Mini 1000 series)
4) Inclusion of a Gigabit Ethernet port (which is absent in the Mini 1000).
Its main disadvantage vis-a-vis the Mini 1000 is the slightly lower 102 x 576 screen resolution which reduces vertical screen real estate. I compensate by setting the taskbar to auto-hide, using the “Tiny Menu” Firefox extension to reduce the vertical footprint of Firefox’s menus, and repositioning the toolbars in Word and Excel to maximize vertical screen real estate. Other than that, however, I don’t normally find the low resolution to be an issue on a day-to-day basis. I’ve seen the high-res screen of the 2133 and found the fonts to be too small to be read comfortably.
so aside from the cosmetic difference, what would you say is the advantage of the Mini 240 over the 1109TU?
have they been releasing the 6cell option and/or SKU for this?